Red Tail
by imhocep
Summary: Im going to try and compile all of my Red Tail vignettes
1. Red Tail Arrives in Mulmaster

This would be when he first began "adventuring", arriving the "Oxpit tavern" in Mulmaster.

The doorway opens and yet another traveller enters. He pauses at the doorway, seemingly unsure as to where to take a seat. Seeing the hooded fellow seated by himself, he pads over and introduces himself.

As he approaches, you note his voluminous cloak seems stitched together from many different colors and fabrics. You also notice the leather wrapped hilt of a two handed weapon that juts from his belt from under the patchwork cloak.

Standing just under 6 feet tall and weighing around 200 pounds, he is rangily built, sturdy, yet  
neither bulkily muscled nor overly lean.

As he moves closer and pulls his cloak to the side, all resemblance to humankind ends. In fact, he resembles nothing so much as a bipedal mountain lion, covered in short jet black fur, complete with a four foot long tail that twitches and lashes incessantly, as if it had a mind of its own. The tip of his tail is rusty red..thought its not clear if its dyed or a natural phenomenon-

This unusual figure is further attired in short, baggy woolen breeches, (complete with tail hole), a well crafted, chain coat formed from hardened iron scales, a broad girdle with several pouches, and high topped leather sandals which expose stubby toes with semi retractable claws.

He is also equipped with a large satchel at his side and his forearms are protected by sturdy looking bracers. A quiver full of mismatched javelins completes his kit.

His bright yellow eyes sparkle with curiosity and mirth as he says in a deep, purring voice: "Greetings, I am called Red Tail...As he speaks, you observe his powerful padded fingers seem to strum the hilt of his curved greatsword."

OOC: (which ill refer to as a Falchion from now on, 3E throwback)


	2. Red Tails Story

Since Ajay Young asked about Red Tails backstory, and inspired by David Wileys posts , i figured id give it a shot.

At the Laughing Goblin:

AS the catfolk speaks, you notice that he tends to roll his "r"s and hiss his "s"s, and switches indiscriminately between person and tenses, possibly inidcatign that common is not his native tongue, and he

"So you wish to hear my tail?"

Red Tail chuckles as the four foot long appendage lashes slowly and says:

"

Yes..I have fought Orcs before, and many other wicked folk. Goblins..I've fought Goblins alot...against the Red Hand Horde in the wars. My travels have led me into many predicaments, though I especially dislike those who prey on the weak. Whether they be monster, man or beast. Which is why I chose to battle those brigands on the road."

"I am from the Shaar, a vast savannah that stretches nearly half of the continent. My people roam the

northern grasslands... We follow the herds that sustain us, occassionally trading with other tribes, mechants, and travellers.. We live simply..most of the day is spent playing around, basking in the sun, or hunting for food.

L

ong ago, I realized the wild, empty savannah is not enough to satisfy my natural curiosity for any length of time. Leaving my clan, I set out to explore the Northlands. My natural talents served me well as a scout, messenger. guide, tracker and caravan guard. For the past several years I have wandered to and fro, sometimes serving as a bounder for some petty lord..more often just helping a freeman defend his hold. "

" Travelling the trade routes of Faerun, I have tried to keep the roads safe, and defend those who need it. Though of late I have spent a good deal of time herding goats.

A month or so ago, I met an old man who lost his goats. I found the goats in canyon, and brought them them back for him. Red Tail was then tending goats for elderly couple. I like goatherding. I got to roam the hills, throw rocks at wildcats, and eventually came to an understanding with the local wolfpack concerning "my goats". I even chased off a few goblins. Each night I brought the goats from the pasture to the corral, and received a lump of goat cheese for payment.

I like Goat cheese! Sometimes, I even got goat meat, though that was the exception , rather than the rule.

Anyways: To shorten my tale:

Red Tail then quickly spins and checks the length of his lashing tail.

"No, not that one" He continues, grinning at the jest.

However, a few tendays ago, the couples son had returned, and Red Tail was out of a job. Again. .

But the son proved to be interesting. It was he who sent me on this delivery errand. Being a goatherd was fun..but I often need to feel the wind on my face and see the ground moving beneath my feet. I hired on as a sellsword for a caravan headed to Mulmaster, and then another to Phlan, and thats how i ended up here"


	3. How Red Tail got Plate Armor

I was thinking this might be a way of "in game" explaining treasure points. Maybe sometimes it buys you a favor?

When he first arrived in Phlan, the feline armsman found a smithy called the "Fiery Forge"

Red Tail would occasionally stop and try to purchase a set of plate mail armor at "a bargain", hoping his service to the town would curry some favor with the armorer, a surly dwarf, rather "long in the tooth" fellow named Tordek.

When he first entered his shop, the gruff dwarf merely grumbled. : "Begone with ye, ya aint got tha coin for anything better'n what you are wearing...Keep your whiskered face out of trouble, you long tailed, oversized,ratsnatcher...and stay out of the ropemongers quarter, I dont want you chasing around balls of fishing twine from here to Luskan."

The dwarf did, however, offer the Tabaxi a few hundred gold coins for the breastplate he had earned from the armorers guild in Mulmaster, a token of appreciation for his small part in driving out the cult of the "Crushing Wave" from the ruins of Fort Dalton, which he then used to buy a set of Splint Mail.

The second time, he had hoped the favor of the Clerics of the Dead God or the Black Fists might help his cause, but again, he failed to convince Tordek to lower his price.

The third time, he had hoped the Lord Sage's favor might at least get him some sort of bargain, but again, the surly dwarf just waved him off as soon as he padded into the shop..

Each time, He had gotten the dwarf to repair a few dents and rips in the mail, but that was it.

However, since the arrival of the "Maimed Virulence", Red Tail had slipped in and out of Phlan several times with the help of the Welcomers, lending his "sword arm" and his climbing skills in exchange for passage..

The catfolk had returned to try and help any refugees who wanted to get out of the city. Sometimes with a few of his adventuring companions, sometimes by himself.

Sometimes he could only convince one or two people it was time to leave the city, once it had been a family, once it was nearly a dozen and Red Tail was sure they were going to be caught, but each time his luck had held out.

A day or two before he had been summoned by Rholk from the merchants guild, he had once again stopped by the "Fiery Forge" whom the feline armsman had been trading with, or attempting to, since he had first arrived in Phlan.

Each time he entered the city, the tabaxi was amazed at how the dragon hadnt just destroyed the city, in many ways, it didnt seem all that different than when Ector Brahms ran it.

Likewise, Tordek, was still churning out armor and weapons, apparently none too happy with having been impressed into service of the Green Dragon and his worshippers. Several suits of armor bearing the green paint lay on the racks, some recently repaired, some in dire need of repair.

Looking up from the anvil, the dwarf gestured Red Tail over to him.

"Ye be with the resistance?" he muttered under his breath.

Nodding, the feline armsman listened intently to ensure they were not being watched.

The tufts of his ears twitching, he extended a massive, pawlike hand to the dwarf and says "Yes, my friends have tried our best to aid the smallfolk"

"Follow me "grumbles the dwarf"

Heading into the back room, he gestures to a suit of armor standing on a rack. Part of it looks quite familiar to the catlike warrior as Tordek explains:

"You know, crafting armor for a giant cat is no easy task..I cant just tailor a suit ive started for a human black fist and slap a coat of paint on it to cover their sigil. I had to take your old breastplate, hammer the dents out of it, and then try and cobble together something to fit your short legs and long arms. Damndest suit of armor ive ever made. Probably has a half dozen pieces from different suits Ive repaired over the years. Im gonna have to strip some of your splint mail to fill in these gaps, so you are still going to look like your armor was a piecemeal job".

Red Tails yellow eyes widen in amazement, "I thought you werent going to make it,, i dont have enough coin..."

the dwarf shrugs and says "Never made armor for a tabaxi, let alone one who helped save Mali's life.. Took it as a challenge, and it seems you have a knack for helping folk out. Now take off that splint armor and let me scavenge what i need, then get out of here before the "Black Fists..errr...I mean Tears of Virulence" come looking for their armor to be repaired."

the dwarf pauses for a moment and waves towards a few shields that seem either hacked by an axe or kicked in

"And you and your companions seem to ...Ahem..Leave some distinctive marks when you hack my work to bits and i have to try and hammer it back together."

As Red Tail buckles on his new suit, the dwarfs eyes almost twinkle as he says "One or two of those turncoat Black Fists might find their armor now has a vulnerability or two, seeing how you might be wearing a piece or two they might be needin'."

Once fully armored, Red Tail shakes the dwarfs hand with both paws and the dwarf wishes him well: "Weve all got a part to play in this before its over..Maybe ill see you in the Happy Hunting Grounds, or the Halls of Moradin, if not sooner, then later...Fat Marr was my friend, and you and your companions stood by him. Avenged him..."

OOC: Heres how im going to in game explain treasure check points...or at least some of them...you don't always "buy" stuff with them, they either represent goodwill from folk like Tordek (i converted 4 checkpoints to "gold", or they represent the ability to maybe "upgrade" and item, like residuum from 4E" , or maybe you DO pry that sword out of the cold, dead hands of the hobgoblin chieftain, the treasure checkpoints just represent an abstraction of the time and effort needed for you to unlock its secrets (kind of like how hit points are an abstraction). likewise, the "gold" you find "but cant use", at least from Red Tails perspective, represents stuff he would give to refugees as he tries to help them rebuild their lives once he guides them past the city walls


	4. Grandfathers Hammer (or great weapon mas

While his companions were sent off to the Ticklebelly Hills to vex the efforts of the Cult of the Dragon, Ghelvid asked Red Tail to remain behind, using his particular skillset to get as many more refugees out of the city as possible.

Borrowing a breastplate liberated from one of the "Tears of Virulence", the Katta (or Shaaran name for Tabaxi), slips in and out of the tunnels and over the walls as often as possible. Just after dusk on the first evening, he sits and waits for a patrol to approach, move past, and then fall beneath his great blade.

Climbing back into the trees, he sees the outline of Sokol Keep in the distance, and wonders how his companions are faring as he remembers what they found beneath the island.

(A memory within a memory)

Beneath Sokol Keep-

As the zombie practically disintegrates before him, Red Tail nearly loses his grip on his weapon in surprise.

For a brief second, his mind journeys back to the days when he first learned of the tactic he had honed over the years, and had finally put into practice at the forgotten temple of Cyric, and now against these strange foes..

Thinking to the past, he remembered the dwarven ranger Harsk... Red Tail had spent alot of time watching Harsks's combat style..how he often sacrificed precision for raw power.

That'd be effective as all hells with my blade the tabaxi had thought on many occasions.

Red Tail remembered the basic technique from his earliest days with the sword. The Packmaster who trained whelps considered it a personal favorite, though he used a huge Axe..He called the technique: "Wrath of the Bear", while the Pathwarden swordmain who constantly drilled new recruits like to call it: "Skaptis's Storming Stand".

Regardless of what it was called, it worked, though it did require caution. Too much heft and the blade would skip right off an armored foe like a flat rock on water, just enough heft would shear through armor like a ballista bolt.

Suddenly pulling himself back to the present, the felid warrior uses the momentum from his cleaving blow to help propel himself as he bounds across the room to aid Kythrie as more zombies and skeletons shamble from the alcoves of the forbidden tomb.

As he roars like a lion, Red Tail decides he will call this technique "GRANDFATHERS HAMMER!" as he slices another reanimated skeleton in two, shattering the slime coated bones with the sheer force of the blow.

(Back to the present)

Chuckling to himself as he remembers Cricket pushing the idol to the ground and Morg smashing it to bits, he feels the wind on his whiskers move, and his ears twitch as he hears the clank of armor as another patrol approaches, most likely to investigate the disappearance of the first.


	5. Retunr to Mulmaster

Out of Character: this is kinda weird, as Red Tail started in Mulmaster at 1st level, AFTER where we are now timelinewise, as i remember Josh saying there were slums set up from the refugees from Phlan, due to the Maimed Virulence, but ill just roll with it. Likewise, i dunno how the arcane caster thing comes into play, as i never played in a group with an arcane caster, i just remember josh asking if anyone was playing one (EDIT: Jesse explained it on FB) ..so its kinda timey wimey for Red Tail

In Character:

Once his companions returned with the news of the Pool of Radiance, and it was decided to head to Mulmaster, the Kattas whiskers visibly droop as he recalls the political machinations of the nobles ruling the city.

However, he decides to make the best of it and travels with his friends and any refugees who need an escort.

Enroute, he tells Effrain, Kythrie and any other caster of what he remembers from his time in the city:

"I did not pay much attention to it, as powers such as yours are beyond me, but I recall there were some rules about who could and couldnt practice magic in Mulmaster. I do know that if you dont have permission, you can be put to death. very..horribly..so please be discreet until we get our bearings in the city and find out what exactly these rules are and how they are enforced"

(OOC: Im not sure Red Tail would actually know the difference between arcane and divine spellcasting)

Continuing in his low, rumbling voice, he adds:

"That and there seemed to be problems with elemental cults. Myself, I fought the minions of both the Water and Air Cults. I think they called themselves the Howling Hatred and Crushing Wave?"

Gesturing to the strange oversized gauntlet the feline armsman always wears strapped to his back and stuffed full of javelins, he adds: "Thats where I found my gauntlet"

As he speaks, you notice the eye motif on his giant sized gauntlet blinks of its own accord.

Each night on the trail, Red Tail would practice "grandfathers hammer", though it was just a portion of the hours spent honing his skill with the great scimitar called the falchion.

Words are funny..thought the Katta ( OOC:..I was just lookign at the 1E PHB and under scimitar it has Cutlass, Sabre, Sickle-sword, Tulwar, etc )...

Maybe ill start calling it a Tulwar!

Likewise, he spent quite a bit of time sparring with both Rovidia and Mohrg, working on different techniques, ripostes, and footwork, as well as discussions on tactics, different weapons, and other topics relevant to armsmen

True to his offer, Red Tail tries to pay attention to Rovidicas bow technique, but the ranger can see he can only stand so much time on an undesirable task before he gets fidgety, so she wisely suggests switching off to bladework in short intervals.

The feline battlemasters yellow eyes twinkle with interest as he explains :"I think your technique is too...rigid..think of the sword as an extension of your arm...thats why I prefer the curved blade, is more natural. I prefer the two handed grip as well, as it multiplies my natural strength. You might want to try switching between one and two handed blows, to see which you like better."

The time on the trail also kept his hunting techniques sharp, being in almost constant use.

Of particular humor to the doughty warrior was when he would put Cricket up to catching Rovidias arrows, a task that neither seemed to be able to resist.

Red Tail would hide a grin as Cricket would bat aside the first arrow and Rovidia would glare at him, but then hed have to turn away to avoid laughing out loud as the ranger would quickly send another arrow home before the monk could rect in time to avoid it.


End file.
